1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus that selects an antenna, a method of controlling the communication apparatus that selects the antenna, and a program thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Two types of network are known to be a wireless LAN. One type is an infrastructure network, wherein communication is made via a parent station that is known as an access point. Another type is an ad hoc network, wherein the communication is made between a child station and another child station, without being routed via the access point.
Using Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), with the IEEE 802.11n specification is also being reviewed. MIMO is a wireless communication technology that combines a plurality of antennae, thus enlarging the bandwidth of the transmission and reception of data. When using the plurality of antennae to perform the communication via the MIMO technology, an assessment is performed of the propagation path of each respective antenna, whereupon an antenna with good characteristics is selected for the communication. A review is thus being conducted into methods of improving the quality of the transmission.
Conventionally, a method of selecting an antenna, or a combination of antennae, with good characteristics has been proposed as a method of improving the quality of the wireless transmission, such as the following:    Cited Reference 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-006258    Cited Reference 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-140853
It would be permissible for each respective child station of an infrastructure network to perform the selection of the antenna between itself and the parent station in order to communicate via the parent station, even when communicating between the child stations. There is no parent station with an ad hoc network, however. As a consequence, if an ad hoc network contains three or more child stations, antenna selection is complicated by the fact that a given transmitter may have more than one possible unit with which to communicate. As an instance of such a complication thereof, additional time is consumed before a given communication commences with the performance of the selection of the antenna with each and every communication, which interferes with ease of use. Selecting and storing the antenna to be used on a per communication unit basis prior to use is not guaranteed to solve the problem either, as there is no guarantee that the quality of the transmission will necessarily improve with the antenna that is thus preselected.
Another problem is that of devices, such as printers, that do not have a need for communication with one another. Performing antenna selection between the devices is a waste of time and electricity that is expended in the process of performing the selection thereof.